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  • LSAT*

    PrepTest 34Test ID: LL3034

  • A complete version of PrepTest XXXIV has been reproducedwith the permission of Law School Admission Council, Inc.

    Prep Test XXXIV 2001 Law School Admission Council, Inc.

    All actual LSAT questions printed within this work are usedwith the permission of Law School Admission Council, Inc.,Box 2000, Newton, PA 18940, the copyright owner. LSACdoes not review or endorse specific test preparation or services, and inclusion of licensed LSAT questions within thiswork does not imply the review or endorsement of LSAC.

    2003 Kaplan, Inc.

    All right reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, byphotostat, microfilm, xerography, or any other means, or incorporated into any

    information retrieval system, electronic or mechanical, without the writtenpermission of Kaplan, Inc.

    LSAT PT34 7/10/03 1:13 PM Page ii

  • Reading Comprehension . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . SECTION I

    Logical Reasoning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . SECTION II

    Logical Reasoning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . SECTION III

    Analytical Reasoning. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . SECTION IV

    LSAT PT34 7/10/03 1:13 PM Page iii

  • Most authoritarian rulers who undertakedemocratic reforms do so not out of any intrinsiccommitment or conversion to democratic ideals, butrather because they foresee or recognize that certainchanges and mobilizations in civil society make itimpossible for them to hold on indefinitely to absolutepower.

    Three major types of changes can contribute to asocietys no longer condoning the continuation ofauthoritarian rule. First, the values and norms in thesociety alter over time, reducing citizens tolerance forrepression and concentration of power and thusstimulating their demands for freedom. In some LatinAmerican countries during the 1970s and 1980s, forexample, this change in values came about partly as aresult of the experience of repression, which brought inits wake a resurgence of democratic values. As peoplecome to place more value on political freedom andcivil liberties they also become more inclined to speakout, protest, and organize for democracy, frequentlybeginning with the denunciation of human rightsabuses.

    In addition to changing norms and values, thealignment of economic interests in a society can shift.As one scholar notes, an important turning point in thetransition to democracy comes when privileged peoplein societylandowners, industrialists, merchants,bankerswho had been part of a regimes support basecome to the conclusion that the authoritarian regime isdispensable and that its continuation might damagetheir long-term interests. Such a large-scale shift in theeconomic interests of these elites was crucial inbringing about the transition to democracy in thePhilippines and has also begun occurring incrementallyin other authoritarian nations.

    A third change derives from the expandingresources, autonomy, and self-confidence of varioussegments of society and of newly formed organizationsboth formal and informal. Students march in the streetsdemanding change; workers paralyze key industries;lawyers refuse to cooperate any longer in legalcharades; alternative sources of information pierce andthen shatter the veil of secrecy and disinformation;informal networks of production and exchange emergethat circumvent the states resources and control. Thisprofound development can radically alter the balanceof power in a country, as an authoritarian regime thatcould once easily dominate and control its citizens isplaced on the defensive.

    Authoritarian rule tends in the long run to generateall three types of changes. Ironically, all three types canbe accelerated by the authoritarian regimes initialsuccess at producing economic growth and maintainingsocial ordersuccess that, by creating a period ofstability, gives citizens the opportunity to reflect on thecircumstances in which they live. The more astute orcalculating of authoritarian rulers will recognize thisand realize that their only hope of retaining somepower in the future is to match these democratic socialchanges with democratic political changes.

    1. Which one of the following most accurately expressesthe main point of the passage?

    (A) Authoritarian rulers tend to undertakedemocratic reforms only after it becomes clearthat the nations economic and social powerbases will slow economic growth and disruptsocial order until such reforms are instituted.

    (B) Authoritarian regimes tend to ensure theirown destruction by allowing oppositiongroups to build support among the wealthywhose economic interests are easily led awayfrom support for the regime.

    (C) Authoritarian policies tend in the long run toalienate the economic power base in a nationonce it becomes clear that the regimes initialsuccess at generating economic growth andstability will be short lived.

    (D) Authoritarian principles tend in the long runto be untenable because they demand fromthe nation a degree of economic and socialstability that is impossible to maintain in theabsence of democratic institutions.

    (E) Authoritarian rulers who institute democraticreforms are compelled to do so becauseauthoritarian rule tends to bring aboutvarious changes in society that eventuallynecessitate corresponding political changes.

    GO ON TO THE NEXT PAGE.

    1 -2- 11SECTION I

    Time35 minutes

    26 Questions

    Directions: Each passage in this section is followed by a group of questions to be answered on the basis of what is stated or impliedin the passage. For some of the questions, more than one of the choices could conceivably answer the question. However, you areto choose the best answer; that is, the response that most accurately and completely answers the question, and blacken thecorresponding space on your answer sheet.

    (5)

    (10)

    (15)

    (20)

    (25)

    (30)

    (35)

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    (45)

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    (55)

    (60)

    LSAT PT34 7/10/03 1:13 PM Page 2

  • 2. The authors attitude toward authoritarian regimes ismost accurately described as which one of thefollowing?

    (A) uncertainty whether the changes inauthoritarian regimes represent genuineprogress or merely superficial changes

    (B) puzzlement about the motives of authoritarianrulers given their tendency to bring abouttheir own demise

    (C) confidence that most authoritarian regimeswill eventually be replaced by a moredemocratic form of government

    (D) insistence that authoritarian rule constitutesan intrinsically unjust form of government

    (E) concern that authoritarian rulers will discoverways to retain power without institutingdemocratic reforms

    3. Which one of the following titles most completelysummarizes the content of the passage?

    (A) Avenues for Change: The Case for Dissent inAuthoritarian Regimes

    (B) Human Rights Abuses under AuthoritarianRegimes: A Case Study

    (C) Democratic Coalitions under AuthoritarianRegimes: Strategies and Solutions

    (D) Why Authoritarian Regimes Compromise: AnExamination of Societal Forces

    (E) Growing Pains: Economic Instability inCountries on the Brink of Democracy

    4. Which one of the following most accurately describesthe organization of the passage?

    (A) A political phenomenon is linked to a generalset of causes; this set is divided into categoriesand the relative importance of each category isassessed; the possibility of alternate causes isconsidered and rejected.

    (B) A political phenomenon is linked to a general setof causes; this set is divided into categories andan explication of each category is presented; thecausal relationship is elaborated upon andreaffirmed.

    (C) A political phenomenon is identified; thepossible causes of the phenomenon aredescribed and placed into categories; onepossible cause is preferred over the others andreasons are given for the preference.

    (D) A political phenomenon is identified;similarities between this phenomenon andthree similar phenomena are presented; thesimilarities among the phenomena arerestated in general terms and argued for.

    (E) A political phenomenon is identified;differences between this phenomenon andthree similar phenomena are presented; thedifferences among the phenomena arerestated in general terms and argued for.

    5. It can most reasonably be inferred from the passagethat

    (A) many authoritarian rulers would eventuallyinstitute democratic reform even if notpressured to do so

    (B) citizen dissatisfaction in authoritarian regimes ishighest when authoritarian rule is first imposed

    (C) popular support for authoritarian regimes islowest when economic conditions are weak

    (D) absolute power in an authoritarian societycannot be maintained indefinitely if thesociety does not condone the regime

    (E) citizens view human rights abuses as the onlyobjectionable aspect of authoritarian regimes

    6. Given the information in the passage, authoritarianrulers who institute democratic reforms decide to do soon the basis of which one of the following principles?

    (A) Rulers should act in ways that allow occasionalcurbs on their power if the health of thenation requires it.

    (B) Rulers should act in ways that offer the greatestamount of personal freedoms to citizens.

    (C) Rulers should act in ways that speed thetransition from authoritarian rule todemocracy.

    (D) Rulers should act in ways that ensure the long-term health of the nations economy.

    (E) Rulers should act in ways that maximize theirlong-term political power.

    GO ON TO THE NEXT PAGE.

    1 1-3-1

    LSAT PT34 7/10/03 1:13 PM Page 3

  • The term blues is conventionally used to refer toa state of sadness or melancholy, but to conclude fromthis that the musical genre of the same name is merelyan expression of unrelieved sorrow is to miss its deepermeaning. Despite its frequent focus on such themes assuffering and self-pity, and despite the censure that ithas sometimes received from church communities, theblues, understood more fully, actually has much incommon with the traditional religious music known asspirituals. Each genre, in its own way, aims to bringabout what could be called a spiritual transformation:spirituals produce a religious experience and the blueselicits an analogous response. In fact the blues has evenbeen characterized as a form of secular spiritual. Theimplication of this apparently contradictoryterminology is clear: the blues shares an essentialaspect of spirituals. Indeed, the blues and spiritualsmay well arise from a common reservoir of experience,tapping into an aesthetic that underlies many aspects ofAfrican American culture.

    Critics have noted that African American folktradition, in its earliest manifestations, does not sharplydifferentiate reality into sacred and secular strains orinto irreconcilable dichotomies between good and evil,misery and joy. This is consistent with the apparentlydual aspect of the blues and spirituals. Spirituals, likethe blues, often express longing or sorrow, but theseplaintive tones are indicative of neither genres fullscope: both aim at transforming their participantsspirits to elation and exaltation. In this regard, bothmusical forms may be linked to traditional AfricanAmerican culture in North America and to its ancestralcultures in West Africa, in whose traditional religionsworshippers play an active role in invoking thedivinein creating the psychological conditions thatare conducive to religious experience. These conditionsare often referred to as ecstasy, which is to beunderstood here with its etymological connotation ofstanding out from oneself, or rather from onesbackground psychological state and from onescentered concept of self.

    Working in this tradition, blues songs serve totranscend negative experiences by invoking thenegative so that it can be transformed through thevirtuosity and ecstatic mastery of the performer. Thisprocess produces a double-edged irony that is oftenevident in blues lyrics themselves; consider, forexample the lines If the blues was money, Id be amillionaire, in which the singer reconfigures theexperience of sorrow into a paradoxical asset through akind of boasting bravado. One critic has observed thatthe impulse behind the blues is the desire to keeppainful experiences alive in the performer and audiencenot just for their own sake, but also in order to coaxfrom these experiences a lyricism that is both tragicand comic.

    7. Based on the passage, with which one of the followingstatements would the author be most likely to agree?

    (A) The emphasis on spiritual transcendence takesthe blues out of the realm of folk art and intothe realm of organized religion.

    (B) Little of the transcendent aspect of the blues isretained in its more modern, electronicallyamplified, urban forms.

    (C) Other forms of African American folk art relyheavily on uses of irony similar to thoseobserved in the blues.

    (D) The distinctive musical structure of bluessongs is the primary means of producingtensions between sadness and transcendence.

    (E) The blues may be of psychological benefit toits listeners.

    8. Each of the following is indicated by the passage as ashared aspect of the blues and spirituals EXCEPT:

    (A) expressions of sorrow or longing(B) a striving to bring about a kind of spiritual

    transformation(C) a possible link to ancestral West African cultures(D) the goal of producing exalted emotions(E) the use of traditional religious terminology in

    their lyrics

    GO ON TO THE NEXT PAGE.

    1 -4- 11

    (5)

    (10)

    (15)

    (20)

    (25)

    (30)

    (35)

    (40)

    (45)

    (50)

    (55)

  • 9. Which one of the following most accurately expresseswhat the author intends a common reservoir ofexperience (line 18) to refer to?

    (A) a set of experiences that members of differingcultures frequently undergo and thatsimilarly affects the music of those cultures

    (B) set of ordinary experiences that underlies thedevelopment of all musical forms

    (C) a set of experiences that contributed to thedevelopment of both the blues and spirituals

    (D) a set of musically relevant experiences thatserves to differentiate reality intoirreconcilable dichotomies

    (E) a set of experiences arising from the folk musicof a community and belonging to thecommunity at large

    10. The primary purpose of the second paragraph is to

    (A) uncover the shared origin of both the bluesand spirituals

    (B) examine the process by which ecstasy isproduced

    (C) identify the musical precursors of the blues(D) explore the sacred and secular strains of the

    blues(E) trace the early development of African

    American folk tradition

    11. The reference to standing out from oneself in line39 primarily serves to

    (A) distinguish the standard from the nonstandard,and thus incorrect, use of a word

    (B) specify a particular sense of a word that theauthor intends the word to convey

    (C) point out a word that incorrectly characterizesexperiences arising from blues performance

    (D) identify a way in which religious participationdiffers from blues performance

    (E) indicate the intensity that a good blues artistbrings to a performance

    12. Which one of the following is most closely analogousto the authors account of the connections among theblues, spirituals, and certain West African religiouspractices?

    (A) Two species of cacti, which are largelydissimilar, have very similar flowers; this hasbeen proven to be due to the ones evolutionfrom a third species, whose flowers arenonetheless quite different from theirs.

    (B) Two species of ferns, which are closely similarin most respects, have a subtly differentarrangement of stem structures; nevertheless,they may well be related to a third, olderspecies, which has yet a different arrangementof stem structures.

    (C) Two types of trees, which botanists have longbelieved to be unrelated, should bereclassified in light of the essential similaritiesof their flower structures and their recentlydiscovered relationship to another species,from which they both evolved.

    (D) Two species of grass, which may have somesubtle similarities, are both very similar to athird species, and thus it can be inferred thatthe third species evolved from one of the twospecies.

    (E) Two species of shrubs, which seemsuperficially unalike, have a significantlysimilar leaf structure; this may be due to theirrelation to a third, older species, which issimilar to both of them.

    GO ON TO THE NEXT PAGE.

    1 1-5-1

    LSAT PT34 7/10/03 1:13 PM Page 5

  • In the eighteenth century the French naturalist JeanBaptiste de Lamarck believed that an animals use ordisuse of an organ affected that organs development inthe animals offspring. Lamarck claimed that thegiraffes long neck, for example, resulted from itsancestors stretching to reach distant leaves. Butbecause biologists could find no genetic mechanism tomake the transmission of environmentally inducedadaptations seem plausible, they have long held thatinheritance of acquired characteristics never occurs.Yet new research has uncovered numerous examples ofthe phenomenon.

    In bacteria, for instance, enzymes synthesize andbreak down rigid cell walls as necessary toaccommodate the bacterias growth. But if anexperimenter completely removes the cell wall from abacterium, the process of wall synthesis andbreakdown is disrupted, and the bacterium continues togrowand multiply indefinitelywithout walls. Thisinherited absence of cell walls in bacteria results fromchanges in the interactions among genes, without anyattendant changes in the genes themselves.

    A fundamentally different kind of environmentallyinduced heritable characteristic occurs when specificgenes are added to or eliminated from an organism. Forexample, a certain virus introduces a gene into fruitflies that causes the flies to be vulnerable to carbondioxide poisoning, and fruit flies infected with the viruswill pass the gene to their offspring. But if infectedflies are kept warm while they are producing eggs, thevirus is eliminated from the eggs and the offspring areresistant to carbon dioxide. Similarly, if an Escherichiacoli bacterium carrying a certain plasmida small ringof genetic materialcomes into contact with an E. colibacterium lacking the plasmid, the plasmid will enterthe second bacterium and become part of its geneticmakeup, which it then passes to its offspring. The caseof the E. coli is especially noteworthy for its suggestionthat inheritance of acquired characteristics may havehelped to speed up evolution: for example, manycomplex cells may have first acquired the ability tocarry out photosynthesis by coming into contact with abacterium possessing the gene for that trait, an abilitythat normally would have taken eons to developthrough random mutation and natural selection.

    The new evidence suggests that genes can bedivided into two groups. Most are inheritedvertically, from ancestors. Some however, seem tohave been acquired horizontally, from viruses,plasmids, bacteria, or other environmental agents. Theevidence even appears to show that genes can betransmitted horizontally between organisms that areconsidered to be unrelated: from bacteria to plants, forexample, or from bacteria to yeast. Some horizontaltransmission may well be the mechanism forinheritance of acquired characteristics that has longeluded biologists, and that may eventually proveLamarcks hypothesis to be correct.

    13. The passage suggests that many biologists no longerbelieve which one of the following?

    (A) An organs use or disuse can affect that organsdevelopment.

    (B) Some but not all genes are inheritedhorizontally.

    (C) All genes are inherited horizontally.(D) Some but not all genes are inherited vertically.(E) All genes are inherited vertically.

    14. According to the passage, which one of the followingis an acquired characteristic transmitted by alteringthe interaction among genes rather than be adding oreliminating a gene?

    (A) invulnerability to carbon dioxide poisoning(B) susceptibility to carbon dioxide poisoning(C) lack of cell walls(D) presence of cell walls(E) possession of certain plasmids

    15. The primary purpose of the last paragraph it to

    (A) suggest a modification to Lamarcks hypothesis(B) demonstrate the correctness of Lamarcks

    hypothesis(C) illustrate the significance of Lamarcks

    hypothesis(D) criticize scientists rejection of Lamarcks

    hypothesis(E) explain how recent discoveries may support

    Lamarcks hypothesis

    GO ON TO THE NEXT PAGE.

    1 -6- 11

    (5)

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    (15)

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    (25)

    (30)

    (35)

    (40)

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    (55)

    LSAT PT34 7/10/03 1:13 PM Page 6

  • 16. Which one of the following, if true, offers the mostsupport for Lamarcks hypothesis?

    (A) Deer have antlers because antlers make deermore likely to survive and reproduce.

    (B) Anteaters developed long snouts because theanteater stretches its snout in order to reachants hidden well below ground.

    (C) Potatoes produced from synthetic genes tendto be more resistant to disease than arepotatoes produced from natural genes.

    (D) Lions raised in captivity tend to have a weakersense of direction than do lions raised in thewild.

    (E) Pups born to wild dogs tend to be moreaggressive than are pups born to dogs bredfor hunting.

    17. According to the passage, the inheritance of acquiredcharacteristics is particularly significant because thisphenomenon

    (A) may affect the speed at which photosynthesisoccurs

    (B) may help to explain the process of naturalselection

    (C) may occur without affecting the compositionof genes

    (D) may influence the rate at which evolutionprogresses

    (E) may be changed or stopped underexperimental conditions

    18. Which one of the following can be inferred from thepassage about the absence of cell walls in somebacteria?

    (A) It can be reversed by introducing theappropriate gene.

    (B) It can be brought about by a virally introducedgene.

    (C) It can be caused by the loss of a cell wall in asingle bacterium.

    (D) It can be halted, but not reversed, by restoringcell walls to a group of bacteria.

    (E) It can be transmitted horizontally to otherbacteria.

    GO ON TO THE NEXT PAGE.

    1 1-7-1

    LSAT PT34 7/10/03 1:13 PM Page 7

  • When women are persecuted on account of theirgender, they are likely to be eligible for asylum.Persecution is the linchpin of the definition of a refugeeset out in the United Nations Convention Relating tothe Status of Refugees. In this document, a refugee isdefined as any person facing persecution for reasonsof race, religion, nationality, membership of aparticular social group, or political opinion. Whilepersecution on the basis of gender is not explicitlylisted, this omission does not preclude victims ofgender-based persecution from qualifying as refugees,nor does it reflect an intention that such persons beexcluded from international protection. Rather, womenpersecuted on account of gender are eligible for asylumunder the category of social group. The history of theinclusion of the social-group category in the definitionof a refugee indicates that this category was intended tocover groups, such as women facing gender-basedpersecution, who are otherwise not covered by thedefinitions specific categories.

    The original definition of refugee, which camefrom the constitution of the International RefugeeOrganization, did not include social group. However,the above-mentioned United Nations Convention addedthe category in order to provide a safety net forasylum-seekers who should qualify for refugee statusbut who fail to fall neatly into one of the enumeratedcategories. The drafters of the Convention intentionallyleft the precise boundaries of the social-group categoryundefined to ensure that the category would retain theflexibility necessary to address unanticipatedsituations.

    A broad interpretation of social group is supportedby the Handbook on Procedures and Criteria forDetermining Refugee Status (1979) published by theoffice of the United Nations High Commissioner forRefugees (UNHCR). The Handbook describes a socialgroup as persons of similar background, habits, orsocial status. This expansive interpretation of thecategory is resonant with the intentions of theConvention draftersa malleable category created forfuture asylum determinations. Since many womenfleeing gender-based persecution share a commonbackground and social status, they should fall withinthe Handbooks definition of a social group.Furthermore, a 1985 UNHCR Executive Committeereport counseled member states to use the social-groupcategory to classify women asylum-seekers who faceharsh or inhuman treatment due to their havingtransgressed the social mores of the society in whichthey live.

    Such a pronouncement is particularly significant. Aposition taken by an organization such as the UNHCRis likely to exert a strong influence on the internationalcommunity. In particular, the UNHCRs position islikely to have an impact on the interpretation ofnational asylum laws, since the terms and definitionsused in many national laws have been developed underthe international consensus that UNHCR represents.

    19. According to the passage, which one of the followingis true about both the United Nations Conventionand the UNHCR Handbook?

    (A) Both documents are likely to exert a stronginfluence on improving the status of womenin countries that are members of the UnitedNations.

    (B) Both documents explicitly support grantingrefugee status to women fleeing gender-basedpersecution.

    (C) Both documents recommend using the social-group category to classify women refugeesseeking asylum from persecution.

    (D) Both documents suggest that the social-groupcategory can be applied to a wide variety ofasylum-seekers.

    (E) Both documents describe a social group aspersons who share a similar background andhold a similar status in society.

    20. The passage suggests that which one of the followingis true about the drafters of the United NationsConvention?

    (A) They wanted to ensure that the United Nationswould be consulted as new reasons forseeking refugee status arose.

    (B) They followed the precedent set by theInternational Refugee Organizationconcerning the status of refugees seekingasylum from gender-based persecution.

    (C) They recognized that it would be difficult tolist every possible reason why a person mightseek refuge from persecution in theConventions definition of a refugee.

    (D) They did not consider persecution on the basisof gender to be as valid a reason for seekingasylum as persecution on the basis of race,nationality, or religion.

    (E) They did not list gender as a category in theConventions definition of a refugee becausegender-based persecution was not asignificant problem at the time theConvention was drafted.

    GO ON TO THE NEXT PAGE.

    1 -8- 11

    (5)

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    LSAT PT34 7/10/03 1:13 PM Page 8

  • 21. Which one of the following asylum-seekers would bemost likely to qualify for refugee status under thesocial-group category as it is described in the passage?

    (A) a woman who is unable to earn enough moneyto support her family because she comes froma poor country

    (B) a woman who has limited opportunities toimprove her socioeconomic status because ofracial discrimination in her country

    (C) a woman who is unable to obtain an educationbecause she is a member of a particularreligious group

    (D) a woman who faces persecution because sherejects the accepted norm in her countryconcerning arranged marriages

    (E) a woman who faces persecution because sheopposes her governments harsh treatment ofpolitical prisoners

    22. The author describes the definition of social group inthe UNHCR Handbook as

    (A) specific but flexible(B) obscure but substantive(C) exhaustive and impartial(D) general and adaptable(E) comprehensive and exemplary

    23. The author of the passage would most likely agreewith which one of the following statements about thedefinition of a refugee in the constitution of theInternational Refugee Organization?

    (A) It failed to include some asylum-seekers whoshould have been considered eligible forrefugee status.

    (B) It provided a strong basis to support the claimthat women seeking asylum from gender-basedpersecution should be eligible for asylum.

    (C) It reflected an awareness that some groups ofrefugees seeking asylum do not easily fall intospecific categories.

    (D) It established that a persons social-groupmembership may be as significant a cause ofpersecution as a persons race, religion, ornationality.

    (E) It prevented individual nations from refusingasylum to persons who were clearly eligiblefor such status on the basis of the definition.

    24. The author describes persecution as the linchpin ofthe definition of a refugee (line 3) in order toindicate that

    (A) international acceptance of the definition wasdependent on reaching consensus about whatconstituted persecution

    (B) international concern about the number ofpeople fleeing persecution was the primaryforce behind the creation of the definition

    (C) persecution is a controversial term and it wasdifficult to reach international agreementabout its exact meaning

    (D) persecution is the primary reason why peopleare forced to leave their home countries andseek asylum elsewhere

    (E) persecution is the central factor in determiningwhether a person is eligible for refugee status

    25. The passage suggests that which one of the following ismost likely to be true of the relationship betweenUNHCR documents concerning refugees and manynations asylum laws?

    (A) The terms and definitions in the United Nationsdocuments are frequently interpreted morenarrowly than are similar terms and definitionsin many national asylum laws.

    (B) Many of the specific terms and definitions inthe United Nations documents represent acompilation of terms and definitions thatwere first used in national asylum laws.

    (C) A new interpretation of a term or definition inone of the United Nations documents is likely toinfluence the interpretation of a similar term ordefinition in a national asylum law.

    (D) A change in the wording of a specificdefinition in one of the United Nationsdocuments must also be reflected in anysimilar terms or definitions contained innational asylum laws.

    (E) The terms and definitions used in manynational asylum laws are in direct oppositionto the terms and definitions used in theUnited Nations documents.

    26. The primary purpose of the passage is to

    (A) trace the development of the definition of animportant term

    (B) interpret the historical circumstances leadingto the development of two documents

    (C) resolve two apparently contradictoryinterpretations of a legal document

    (D) suggest an alternative solution to a much-disputed problem

    (E) argue against the current definition of aspecific term

    1 1-9-1

    S T O PIF YOU FINISH BEFORE TIME IS CALLED, YOU MAY CHECK YOUR WORK ON THIS SECTION ONLY.

    DO NOT WORK ON ANY OTHER SECTION IN THE TEST.

  • 2 -10- 2

    1. In his new book on his complex scientific research, Rfrequently imputes bad faith to researchersdisagreeing with him. A troubling aspect of Rs bookis his stated conviction that other investigatorsfunding sources often determine what findingsthose investigators report. Add to this that R hasoften shown himself to be arrogant, overlyambitious, and sometimes plain nasty, and itbecomes clear that Rs book does not merit attentionfrom serious professionals.

    The author of the book review commits which one ofthe following reasoning errors?

    (A) using an attack on the character of the writerof the book as evidence that his person is notcompetent on matters of scientific substance

    (B) taking it for granted that an investigator isunlikely to report findings that are contrary tothe interests of those funding the investigation

    (C) dismissing a scientific theory by giving abiased account of it

    (D) presenting as facts several assertions about thebook under review that are based only onstrong conviction and would be impossiblefor others to verify

    (E) failing to distinguish between the criteria ofbeing true and of being sufficientlyinteresting to merit attention

    2. Having an efficient, attractive subway system makesgood economic sense. So, the city needs to purchasenew subway cars, since the city should always dowhat makes good economic sense.

    The conclusion drawn above follows logically ifwhich one of the following is assumed?

    (A) The city should invest in an efficient, attractivesubway system.

    (B) Cost-effective subway cars are an integral partof an efficient subway system.

    (C) Investment in new subway cars makes bettereconomic sense than many of the otherinvestment options open to the city.

    (D) New subway cars are financially affordable.(E) New subway cars are required in order for the

    city to have a subway system that is efficientand attractive.

    3. Restaurant manager: In response to requests fromour patrons for vegetarian main dishes, werecently introduced three: an eggplant andzucchini casserole with tomatoes, brown ricewith mushrooms, and potatoes baked withcheese. The first two are frequently ordered,but no one orders the potato dish, although itcosts less than the other two. Clearly, then, ourpatrons prefer not to eat potatoes.

    Which one of the following is an error of reasoningin the restaurant managers argument?

    (A) concluding that two things that occur at thesame time have a common cause

    (B) drawing a conclusion that is inconsistent withone premise of the argument

    (C) ignoring possible differences between whatpeople say they want and what they actuallychoose

    (D) attempting to prove a claim on the basis ofevidence that a number of people hold thatclaim to be true

    (E) treating one of several plausible explanations ofa phenomenon as the only possible explanation

    GO ON TO THE NEXT PAGE.

    22SECTION II

    Time35 minutes25 Questions

    Directions: The questions in this section are based on the reasoning contained in brief statements or passages. For somequestions, more than one of the choices could conceivably answer the question. However, you are to choose the best answer; thatis, the response that most accurately and completely answers the question. You should not make assumptions that are bycommonsense standards implausible, superfluous, or incompatible with the passage. After you have chosen the best answer,blacken the corresponding space on your answer sheet.

  • 2-11-24. For newborns of age four to six weeks whose mothers

    have been the primary caregivers, the following is true:When the newborns are crying due to hunger or othersimilar discomfort, merely hearing the mothers voicewill lead to a temporary halt in crying, while the voicesof others do not have this effect.

    Which one of the following is most reasonablysupported by the information above?

    (A) Babies more easily learn to recognize thevoices of their mothers than the voices ofother people.

    (B) A mothers voice is the first thing a baby learnsto recognize.

    (C) Babies associate the voice of the primarycaregiver with release from discomfort.

    (D) Often only a primary caregiver can providecomfort to a newborn.

    (E) Discomfort in newborns is best relieved byhearing the mothers voice.

    5. Many elementary schools have recently offeredcomputer-assisted educational programs. Studentsreactions after several years have been decidedlymixed. Whereas students have found computers veryuseful in studying arithmetic, they have found themof little help in studying science, and of no help at allwith their reading and writing skills.

    Which one of the following, if true, most helps toexplain the students mixed reactions?

    (A) Students in these schools began reading anddoing arithmetic before learning to usecomputers.

    (B) Of the disciplines and skills mentioned, theexactness of arithmetic makes it most suitableto computer-assisted education.

    (C) Many elementary school teachers are reluctantto use computer technology in theirclassrooms.

    (D) Young students are more likely to maintaininterest in training programs that use thenewest computers and video graphics than inthose that do not.

    (E) The elementary schools have offered morecomputer-assisted programs in reading andwriting than in arithmetic and science.

    6. The notion that one might be justified in behavingirrationally in the service of a sufficiently worthy endis incoherent. For if such an action is justified, thenone would be behaving rationally, not irrationally.

    Which one of the following arguments is mostsimilar in its reasoning to the argument above?

    (A) A representative of the law, such as a judge or apolice officer, ought not to commit crimes. Forif representatives of the law commit crimes,they will be ineffective in preventing crime.

    (B) One cannot intend to spill a glass of wateraccidentally. Spilling it accidentally means thatthe act will not have been done intentionally.

    (C) One cannot live the good life and be unhappy.If ones own neighbors see that one isunhappy, then they will see that one is notliving the good life.

    (D) Doctors cannot perform self-diagnosis, forthey cannot objectively evaluate their ownsymptoms, and thus will be practicing poormedicine.

    (E) One ought not to have both a cat and a goldfish.The goldfish is the natural prey of the cat, so itis unethical to place it at the cats disposal.

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  • 2 -12- 27. A certain moral system holds that performing good

    actions is praiseworthy only when one overcomes apowerful temptation in order to perform them. Yetthis same moral system also holds that performinggood actions out of habit is sometimes praiseworthy.

    Which one of the following, if true, does the most toreconcile the apparent conflict in the moral systemdescribed above?

    (A) People who perform good actions out of habithave often acquired this habit after years ofhaving resisted temptation.

    (B) Most people face strong moral temptationfrom time to time but few people have toendure it regularly.

    (C) People virtually always perform actions theythink are good, regardless of what otherpeople may think.

    (D) Since it is difficult to tell what is going on inanother persons mind, it is often hard to knowexactly how strongly a person is tempted.

    (E) It is far more common for people to performgood actions out of habit than for them to doso against strong temptation.

    8. Conservationist: The risk to airplane passengersfrom collisions between airplanes using theairport and birds from the wildlife refuge isnegligible. In the 10 years since the refuge wasestablished, only 20 planes have been damagedin collisions with birds, and no passenger hasbeen injured as a result of such a collision. Thewildlife refuge therefore poses no safety risk.

    Pilot: You neglect to mention that 17 of those 20collisions occurred within the past 2 years, andthat the number of birds in the refuge israpidly increasing. As the number of collisionsbetween birds and airplanes increases, so doesthe likelihood that at least one such collisionwill result in passenger injuries.

    The pilot counters the conservationist by

    (A) attempting to show that the conservationistsdescription of the facts is misleading

    (B) questioning the conservationists motives forreaching a certain conclusion

    (C) asserting that dangerous situations inevitablybecome more dangerous with the passage oftime

    (D) discrediting the moral principle on which theconservationists argument is based

    (E) disputing the accuracy of the figures cited bythe conservationist

    9. A university study reported that between 1975 and1983 the length of the average workweek in a certaincountry increased significantly. A governmentalstudy, on the other hand, shows a significant declinein the length of the average workweek for the sameperiod. Examination of the studies shows, however,that they used different methods of investigation;thus there is no need to look further for anexplanation of the difference in the studies results.

    The arguments reasoning is flawed because theargument fails to

    (A) distinguish between a study produced for thepurposes of the operation of government and astudy produced as part of university research

    (B) distinguish between a method of investigationand the purpose of an investigation

    (C) recognize that only one of the studies has beenproperly conducted

    (D) recognize that two different methods ofinvestigation can yield identical results

    (E) recognize that varying economic conditionsresult in the average workweek changing inlength

    10. Although the charter of Westside School states thatthe student body must include some students withspecial educational needs, no students with learningdisabilities have yet enrolled in the school. Therefore,the school is currently in violation of its charter.

    The conclusion of the argument follows logically ifwhich one of the following is assumed?

    (A) All students with learning disabilities havespecial educational needs.

    (B) The school currently has no student withlearning disabilities.

    (C) The school should enroll students with specialeducational needs.

    (D) The only students with special educationalneeds are students with learning disabilities.

    (E) The schools charter cannot be modified inorder to avoid its being violated.

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  • 2-13-211. Some psychologists claim that, in theory, the best

    way to understand another person would be throughdeep empathy, whereby one would gain a direct andcomplete grasp of that persons motivations. Butsuppose they are right; then there would be no way atall to achieve understanding, since it ispsychologically impossible to gain a direct andcomplete grasp of another persons motivations. Butobviously one can understand other people; thusthese psychologists are wrong.

    The argument is most vulnerable to the criticism that it

    (A) fails to adequately define the key phrase deepempathy

    (B) assumes something that it later denies,resulting in a contradiction

    (C) confuses a theoretically best way ofaccomplishing something with the only wayof accomplishing it

    (D) accepts a claim on mere authority, withoutrequiring sufficient justification

    (E) fails to consider that other psychologists maydisagree with the psychologists cited

    12. The five senses have traditionally been viewed asdistinct yet complementary. Each sense is thought tohave its own range of stimuli that are incapable ofstimulating the other senses. However, recentresearch has discovered that some people taste abanana and claim that they are tasting blue, or see acolor and say that it has a specific smell. This showsthat such people, called synesthesiacs, have sensesthat do not respect the usual boundaries between thefive recognized senses.

    Which one of the following statements, if true, mostseriously weakens the argument?

    (A) Synesthesiacs demonstrate a general,systematic impairment in their ability to useand understand words.

    (B) Recent evidence strongly suggests that thereare other senses besides sight, touch, smell,hearing, and taste.

    (C) The particular ways in which sensoryexperiences overlap in synesthesiacs follow adefinite pattern.

    (D) The synesthetic phenomenon has beendescribed in the legends of various cultures.

    (E) Synesthesiacs can be temporarily rid of theirsynesthetic experiences by the use of drugs.

    13. Essayist: One of the claims of laissez-faireeconomics is that increasing the minimumwage reduces the total number of minimum-wage jobs available. In a recent study, however,it was found that after an increase in theminimum wage, fast-food restaurants kept onroughly the same number of minimum-wageemployees as before the increase. Therefore,laissez-faire economics is not entirely accurate.

    The essayists argument depends on assuming whichone of the following?

    (A) If laissez-faire economics makes an incorrectprediction about the minimum wage, then allthe doctrines of laissez-faire economics areinaccurate.

    (B) Minimum-wage job availability at fast-foodrestaurants included in the study wasrepresentative of minimum-wage jobavailability in general.

    (C) No study has ever found that a business hasdecreased the number of its minimum-wageemployees after an increase in the minimumwage.

    (D) The fast-food restaurants included in the studydid not increase the average wage paid toemployees.

    (E) The national unemployment rate did notincrease following the increase in theminimum wage.

    14. Some people claim that every human discovery orinvention is an instance of self-expression. But whatthey seem to ignore is that, trivially, anything we dois self-expressive. So, until they can give us a moreinteresting interpretation of their claim, we are notobliged to take their claim seriously.

    Which one of the following, if true, provides themost support for the reasoning above?

    (A) All claims that are trivial are uninteresting.(B) Most people do not take trivial claims seriously.(C) No claims that are trivial are worthy of serious

    consideration.(D) Every claim is open to both interesting and

    uninteresting interpretations.(E) Every interpretation is either trivial or

    uninteresting.

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  • 2 -14- 2Questions 1516

    Camera manufacturers typically advertise theirproducts by citing the resolution of their cameras lenses,the resolution of a lens being the degree of detail the lensis capable of reproducing in the image it projects onto thefilm. Differences between cameras in this respect areirrelevant for practical photography, however, since allmodern lenses are so excellent that they project far moredetail onto the film than any photographic film is capableof reproducing in a developed image.

    15. Which one of the following most accurately states themain point of the argument?

    (A) Camera manufacturers ought to concentrateon building other desirable qualities intotheir cameras lenses, rather thanconcentrating only on the lenses resolution.

    (B) Apart from differences in resolution, there is nopractical difference among modern cameras inthe quality of the images that they produce.

    (C) Advertised differences among cameras in theresolution of their lenses have no practicalbearing on the cameras relative quality asphotographic tools.

    (D) In concentrating their advertising on the issueof image quality, manufacturers are making amistake about the interests of potentialpurchasers of cameras.

    (E) Differences among photographic films in theamount of detail they reproduce have a moresignificant effect on the quality of thedeveloped image than do differences in theresolution of camera lenses.

    16. The argument depends on assuming which one ofthe following?

    (A) The definition of the term resolution doesnot capture an important determinant of thequality of photographic instruments andmaterials.

    (B) In determining the amount of detailreproduced in the developed photographicimage, differences in the resolutions ofavailable lenses do not compound thedeficiencies of available film.

    (C) Variations in the method used to process thefilm do not have any significant effect on thefilms resolution.

    (D) Flawless photographic technique is needed toachieve the maximum image resolutionpossible with the materials and equipmentbeing used.

    (E) The only factors important in determining thedegree of detail reproduced in the finalphotographic print are the resolution of thecameras lens and the resolution of the film.

    17. Dietary researcher: A recent study reports thatlaboratory animals that were fed reduced-calorie diets lived longer than laboratoryanimals whose caloric intake was not reduced.In response, some doctors are advocatingreduced-calorie diets, in the belief that NorthAmericans life spans can thereby be extended.However, this conclusion is not supported.Laboratory animals tend to eat much morethan animals in their natural habitats, whichleads to their having a shorter life expectancy.Restricting their diets merely brings theircaloric intake back to natural, optimal levelsand reinstates their normal life spans.

    Which one of the following, if true, would mostweaken the dietary researchers argument?

    (A) North Americans, on average, consume ahigher number of calories than the optimalnumber of calories for a human diet.

    (B) North Americans with high-fat, low-caloriediets generally have a shorter life expectancythan North Americans with low-fat, low-calorie diets.

    (C) Not all scientific results that have importantimplications for human health are based onstudies of laboratory animals.

    (D) Some North Americans who follow reduced-calorie diets are long-lived.

    (E) There is a strong correlation between diet andlongevity in some species of animals.

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  • 2-15-218. Editorialist: The positions advanced by radical

    environmentalists often contain hypothesesthat are false and proposals that areeconomically infeasible. But there is a positiverole to be played even by extremists, for thesocial and political inertia that attendsenvironmental issues is so stubborn that evensmall areas of progress can be made only if thepopulace fears environmental disaster,however untenable the reasons for those fearsmay be.

    Which one of the following most accurately expressesthe main conclusion of the editorialists argument?

    (A) The little progress that has been made inimproving the environment is mainly due tothe fear created by radical environmentalists.

    (B) Radical environmentalists, by promoting theirviews, stimulate progress on environmentalissues.

    (C) Social and political inertia is most effectivelyovercome by an extremely fearful populace,regardless of whether its fears are well-founded.

    (D) Radical environmentalists often put forthuntenable positions in order to produce thefear that is required to bring about moderatereforms.

    (E) Radical environmentalists advocate positionswithout regard for factual support oreconomic feasibility.

    19. People should avoid taking the antacid calciumcarbonate in doses larger than half a gram, fordespite its capacity to neutralize stomach acids,calcium carbonate can increase the calcium level inthe blood and thus impair kidney function.Moreover, just half a gram of it can stimulate theproduction of gastrin, a stomach hormone thattriggers acid secretion.

    Which one of the following is most stronglysupported by the information above?

    (A) Cessation of gastrin production is a moreeffective method of controlling excessstomach acid than is direct neutralization ofstomach acid.

    (B) People who avoid taking more than half agram of calcium carbonate are less likely thanaverage to suffer from impaired kidneyfunction.

    (C) Doses of calcium carbonate smaller than half agram can reduce stomach acid moreeffectively than much larger doses do.

    (D) Half a gram of calcium carbonate can causallycontribute to both the secretion and theneutralization of stomach acids.

    (E) Impaired kidney function may increase thelevel of calcium in the blood.

    Questions 2021

    Professor Chan: The literature departmentsundergraduate courses should cover only trueliterary works, and not such frivolous material asadvertisements.

    Professor Wigmore: Advertisements might or might notbe true literary works but they do have a powerfullydetrimental effect on societylargely because peoplecannot discern their real messages. The literaturedepartments courses give students the critical skillsto analyze and understand texts. Therefore, it is theliterature departments responsibility to include thestudy of advertisements in its undergraduate courses.

    20. Which one of the following principles most stronglysupports Professor Wigmores argument?

    (A) Advertisements ought to be framed in such away that their real messages are immediatelyclear.

    (B) Any text that is subtly constructed and capableof affecting peoples thought and action oughtto be considered a form of literature.

    (C) All undergraduate students ought to take atleast one course that focuses on thedevelopment of critical skills.

    (D) The literature departments courses ought toenable students to analyze and understandany text that could have a harmful effect onsociety.

    (E) Any professor teaching an undergraduatecourse in the literature department ought tobe free to choose the material to be covered inthat course.

    21. Which one of the following is an assumption onwhich Professor Wigmores argument depends?

    (A) Texts that are true literary works never have adetrimental effect on society.

    (B) Courses offered by the literature departmentcannot include both true literary works andmaterial such as advertisements.

    (C) Students who take courses in the literaturedepartment do not get from those coursesother skills besides those needed to analyzeand understand texts.

    (D) Forms of advertising that convey their messageentirely through visual images do not have adetrimental effect on society.

    (E) The literature departments responsibility isnot limited to teaching students how toanalyze true literary works.

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  • 2 -16- 222. Sociologist: Some people argue that capital

    punishment for theft was an essential part ofthe labor discipline of British capitalism.Critics of such a view argue that more peoplewere executed for theft in preindustrialEngland than were executed in England afterindustrialization. But such a criticismoverlooks the fact that industrialization andcapitalism are two very different socialphenomena, and that the latter predated theformer by several centuries.

    Which one of the following most accurately describesthe role played in the passage by the point thatcapitalism and industrialization are distinct?

    (A) It is cited as some evidence against the claimthat capital punishment for theft was anessential part of the labor discipline of Britishcapitalism.

    (B) It is cited as a direct contradiction of the claimthat capital punishment for theft was anessential part of the labor discipline of Britishcapitalism.

    (C) It is an attempt to conclusively prove the claimthat capital punishment for theft was anessential part of the labor discipline of Britishcapitalism.

    (D) It is cited as a fact supporting the critics of theview that capital punishment for theft was anessential part of the labor discipline of Britishcapitalism.

    (E) It is an attempt to undermine the criticismcited against the claim that capitalpunishment for theft was an essential part ofthe labor discipline of British capitalism.

    23. To be horrific, a monster must be threatening.Whether or not it presents psychological, moral orsocial dangers, or triggers enduring infantile fears, ifa monster is physically dangerous then it isthreatening. In fact, even a physically benign monsteris horrific if it inspires revulsion.

    Which one of the following logically follows from thestatements above?

    (A) Any horror-story monster that is threatening isalso horrific.

    (B) A monster that is psychologically dangerous,but that does not inspire revulsion, is nothorrific.

    (C) If a monster triggers infantile fears but is notphysically dangerous, then it is not horrific.

    (D) If a monster is both horrific andpsychologically threatening, then it does notinspire revulsion.

    (E) All monsters that are not physically dangerous,but that are psychologically dangerous andinspire revulsion, are threatening.

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  • 2-17-224. Lawyer: The defendant wanted to clear the snow off

    his car and in doing so knocked snow on thesidewalk. This same snow melted and refroze,forming ice on which the plaintiff fell,breaking her hip. We argue that the defendantmaliciously harmed the plaintiff, becausemalice is intention to cause harm and thedefendant intentionally removed the snowfrom his car and put it on the sidewalk, which,unbeknownst to the defendant at the time,would subsequently cause the injury sufferedby the plaintiff.

    The flawed reasoning in which one of the following ismost similar to that in the lawyers argument?

    (A) Alice asked her sister to lie in court.Unbeknownst to Alices sister, lying in court isagainst the law. So what Alice asked her sisterto do was illegal.

    (B) Bruce wanted to eat the mincemeat pie.Unbeknownst to Bruce, the mincemeat pie waspoisonous. So Bruce wanted to eat poison.

    (C) Cheryl denigrated the wine. Cheryls sister hadpicked out the wine. So though she may nothave realized it, Cheryl indirectly denigratedher sister.

    (D) Deon had lunch with Ms. Osgood.Unbeknownst to Deon, Ms. Osgood isgenerally thought to be an industrial spy. SoDeon had lunch with an industrial spy.

    (E) Edwina bought a car from Mr. Yancy, then resoldit. Unbeknownst to Edwina, Mr. Yancy hadstolen the car. So Edwina sold a stolen car.

    25. Although wood-burning stoves are more efficientthan open fireplaces, they are also more dangerous.The smoke that wood-burning stoves release up thechimney is cooler than the smoke from an openflame. Thus it travels more slowly and deposits morecreosote, a flammable substance that can clog achimneyor worse ignite inside it.

    Which one of the following, if true, most seriouslyweakens the argument?

    (A) The most efficient wood-burning stoves produceless creosote than do many open fireplaces.

    (B) The amount of creosote produced depends notonly on the type of flame but on how oftenthe stove or fireplace is used.

    (C) Open fireplaces pose more risk of severeaccidents inside the home than do wood-burning stoves.

    (D) Open fireplaces also produce a large amount ofcreosote residue.

    (E) Homeowners in warm climates rarely usefireplaces or wood-burning stoves.

    22

    S T O PIF YOU FINISH BEFORE TIME IS CALLED, YOU MAY CHECK YOUR WORK ON THIS SECTION ONLY.

    DO NOT WORK ON ANY OTHER SECTION IN THE TEST.

  • 33 -18-

    1. If a doctor gives a patient only a few options forlifestyle modification, the patient is more likely toadhere to the doctors advice than if the doctor givesthe patient many options.

    Which one of the following most accurately expressesthe principle illustrated above?

    (A) People are especially likely to ignore the advicethey get from doctors if they are confusedabout that advice.

    (B) People dislike calculating the best of a varietyof choices unless they can see a cleardifference among the benefits that wouldresult from each choice.

    (C) The tendency people have to alter theirbehavior varies inversely with the number ofalternatives available to them for behaviormodification.

    (D) Most people are unlikely to follow their doctorsadvice unless they can vividly imagine theconsequences of not following the advice.

    (E) In getting good results, the clarity with which adoctor instructs a patient is of equalimportance to the accuracy of the doctorsdiagnosis on which that instruction is based.

    2. To acquire a better understanding of the structureand development of the human personality, somepsychologists study the personalities of animals.

    Each of the following, if true, contributes to anexplanation of the practice mentioned above EXCEPT:

    (A) The actions of humans and animals are believedto be motivated by similar instincts, but theseinstincts are easier to discern in animals.

    (B) The law forbids certain experiments onhumans but permits them on animals.

    (C) It is generally less expensive to performexperiments on animals than it is to performthem on humans.

    (D) Proper understanding of human personality isthought to provide a model for betterunderstanding the personality of animals.

    (E) Field observations of the behavior of younganimals often inspire insightful hypothesesabout human personality development.

    3. Sigatoka disease drastically reduces the yield ofbanana trees and is epidemic throughout the areas ofthe world where bananas are grown. The fungus thatcauses the disease can be controlled with fungicides,but the fungicides can pose a health hazard to peopleliving nearby. The fungicides are thus unsuitable forsmall banana groves in populated areas. Fortunately,most large banana plantations are in locations soisolated that fungicides can be used safely there.Therefore, most of the worlds banana crop is notseriously threatened by Sigatoka disease.

    Which one of the following is an assumption onwhich the argument depends?

    (A) It will eventually be possible to breed strains ofbananas that are resistant to Sigatoka disease.

    (B) Large plantations produce most or all of theworlds bananas.

    (C) Sigatoka disease spreads more slowly on largeplantations than in small banana groves.

    (D) Sigatoka disease is the only disease thatthreatens bananas on a worldwide scale.

    (E) Most of the banana trees that have not beenexposed to the Sigatoka fungus grow in smallbanana groves.

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    33 3SECTION III

    Time35 minutes26 Questions

    Directions: The questions in this section are based on the reasoning contained in brief statements or passages. For somequestions, more than one of the choices could conceivably answer the question. However, you are to choose the best answer; thatis, the response that most accurately and completely answers the question. You should not make assumptions that are bycommonsense standards implausible, superfluous, or incompatible with the passage. After you have chosen the best answer,blacken the corresponding space on your answer sheet.

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  • 3-19-34. A group of 1,000 students was randomly selected

    from three high schools in a medium-sized city andasked the question, Do you plan to finish your highschool education? More than 89 percent answeredYes. This shows that the overwhelming majority ofstudents want to finish high school, and that if thenational dropout rate among high school students ishigh, it cannot be due to a lack of desire on the partof the students.

    The reasoning of the argument above is questionablebecause the argument

    (A) fails to justify its presumption that 89 percentis an overwhelming majority

    (B) attempts to draw two conflicting conclusionsfrom the results of one survey

    (C) overlooks the possibility that there may in factnot be a high dropout rate among high schoolstudents

    (D) contradicts itself by admitting that there maybe a high dropout rate among students whileclaiming that most students want to finishhigh school

    (E) treats high school students from a particularmedium-sized city as if they are representativeof high school students nationwide

    5. Columnist: A democratic society cannot existunless its citizens have established strongbonds of mutual trust. Such bonds are formedand strengthened only by a participation incivic organizations, political parties, and othergroups outside the family. It is obvious thenthat widespread reliance on movies andelectronic media for entertainment has aninherently corrosive effect on democracy.

    Which one of the following is an assumption onwhich the columnists argument depends?

    (A) Anyone who relies on movies and electronicmedia for entertainment is unable to form astrong bond of mutual trust with a citizen.

    (B) Civic organizations cannot usefully advancetheir goals by using electronic media.

    (C) Newspapers and other forms of print mediastrengthen, rather than weaken, democraticinstitutions.

    (D) Relying on movies and electronic media forentertainment generally makes people lesslikely to participate in groups outside theirfamilies.

    (E) People who rely on movies and electronicmedia for entertainment are generally closerto their families than are those who do not.

    6. Standard archaeological techniques make it possibleto determine the age of anything containingvegetable matter, but only if the object is free ofminerals containing carbon. Prehistoric artistspainted on limestone with pigments composed ofvegetable matter, but it is impossible to collectsamples of this prehistoric paint without removinglimestone, a mineral containing carbon, with thepaint. Therefore, it is not possible to determine theage of prehistoric paintings on limestone usingstandard archaeological techniques.

    Which one of the following, if true, most seriouslyweakens the argument?

    (A) There exist several different techniques forcollecting samples of prehistoric pigments onlimestone.

    (B) Laboratory procedures exist that can removeall the limestone from a sample of prehistoricpaint on limestone.

    (C) The age of the limestone itself can bedetermined from samples that contain novegetable-based paint.

    (D) Prehistoric artists did not use anything otherthan vegetable matter to make their paints.

    (E) The proportion of carbon to other elements inlimestone is the same in all samples oflimestone.

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  • 33 -20-Questions 78

    Dr. Jones: The new technology dubbed telemedicine willprovide sustained improvement in at least rural patientcare since it allows rural physicians to televise medicalexaminations to specialists who live at greatdistancesspecialists who will thus be able to provideadvice the rural patient would otherwise not receive.

    Dr. Carabella: Not so. Telemedicine might help ruralpatient care initially. However, small hospitals willsoon realize that they can minimize expenses byreplacing physicians with technicians who can usetelemedicine to transmit examinations to largemedical centers, resulting in fewer patients being ableto receive traditional, direct medical examination.Eventually, it will be the rare individual who ever getstruly personal attention. Hence, rural as well asurban patient care will suffer.

    7. Which one of the following is a point at issuebetween Dr. Jones and Dr. Carabella?

    (A) whether medical specialists in general offerbetter advice than rural physicians

    (B) whether telemedicine technology will beinstalled only in rural hospitals and ruralmedical centers

    (C) whether telemedicine is likely to be widelyadopted in rural areas in future years

    (D) whether the patients who most need the adviceof medical specialists are likely to receive itthrough telemedicine

    (E) whether the technology of telemedicine willbenefit rural patients in the long run

    8. Dr. Carabella uses which one of the followingstrategies in responding to Dr. Jones?

    (A) listing a set of considerations to show that aprescribed treatment that seems to bebenefiting a patient in fact harms that patient

    (B) describing the application of the technologydiscussed by Dr. Jones as one step that initiatesa process that leads to an undesirable end

    (C) citing evidence that Dr. Jones lacks theprofessional training to judge the case at issue

    (D) invoking medical statistics that cast doubt onthe premises used in Dr. Joness argument

    (E) providing grounds for dismissing Dr. Jonessinterpretation of a key term in medicaltechnology

    9. Lines can be parallel in a Euclidean system ofgeometry. But the non-Euclidean system of geometrythat has the most empirical verification is regardedby several prominent physicists as correctlydescribing the universe we inhabit. If these physicistsare right, in our universe there are no parallel lines.

    Which one of the following is an assumption that isrequired by the argument?

    (A) There are no parallel lines in the non-Euclidean system of geometry that has themost empirical verification.

    (B) Most physicists have not doubted the view thatthe universe is correctly described by the non-Euclidean system of geometry that has themost empirical verification.

    (C) There are no parallel lines in every non-Euclidean system of geometry that has anyempirical verification.

    (D) The universe is correctly described by the non-Euclidean system of geometry that has themost empirical verification if prominentphysicists maintain that it is.

    (E) Only physicists who are not prominent doubtthe view that the universe is correctlydescribed by the non-Euclidean system ofgeometry that has the most empiricalverification.

    10. Philosopher: People are not intellectually wellsuited to live in large bureaucratic societies.Therefore, people can find happiness, if at all,only in smaller political units such as villages.

    The reasoning in the philosophers argument isflawed because the argument takes for granted that

    (A) no one can ever be happy living in a society inwhich she or he is not intellectually wellsuited to live

    (B) the primary purpose of small political unitssuch as villages is to make people happy

    (C) all societies that are plagued by excessivebureaucracy are large

    (D) anyone who lives in a village or other smallpolitical unit that is not excessivelybureaucratic can find happiness

    (E) everyone is willing to live in villages or othersmall political units

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  • 3-21-311. The present goal of the field of medicine seems to be to

    extend life indefinitely. Increasingly, the ability totransplant such organs as hearts, lungs, livers, andkidneys will allow us to live longer. But we can neverachieve brain transplants. There are, for a start, tenmillion nerves running from the brain down the neck,not to mention the millions joining the brain to thesensing organs. Clearly, then, as the transplantation oforgans allows more and more people to live longer,those with degenerative brain disorders will form anever-increasing proportion of the population.

    The argument above is based on which one of thefollowing assumptions?

    (A) Degenerative brain disorders will increasinglystrike younger and younger patients.

    (B) It is still quite rare for people to live longenough to need more than one transplant ofany given organ.

    (C) There are degenerative brain disorders thatwill not be curable without brain transplants.

    (D) Degenerative brain disorders account for avery small proportion of deaths in thepopulation at large.

    (E) More is being spent on research intodegenerative brain disorders than on researchinto transplantation.

    12. Politician: My opponents argue that the future ofour city depends on compromisethat unlessthe citys leaders put aside their differences andwork together toward common goals, the citywill suffer. However, the founders of this citybased the citys charter on definite principles,and anyone who compromises those principlesbetrays the city founders goals. What myopponents are advocating, therefore, is nothingless than betraying the goals of the citysfounders.

    Critic: Im afraid your argument is flawed. Unlessyoure assuming that the differences among thecitys leaders are differences of principle, yourargument depends on a misleading use of theterm ______ .

    Which one of the following provides the most logicalcompletion of the critics statement?

    (A) betray(B) common(C) compromise(D) principles(E) opponents

    13. Though many insects die soon after reproducing forthe first time, some may live for years after thesurvival of the next generation has been secured.Among the latter are some insects that work for thebenefit of the ecosystemfor example, bees.

    Which one of the following can be properly inferredfrom the information above?

    (A) Survival of the species, rather than of theindividual, is the goal of most insectpopulations.

    (B) Insects that do not play a vital role in theecosystem are more likely to die afterreproducing for the first time.

    (C) Most bees live well beyond the onset of thegeneration that follows them.

    (D) Those bees that reproduce do not always diesoon after reproducing for the first time.

    (E) Most insects are hatched self-sufficient and donot need to be cared for by adult insects.

    14. Peoples political behavior frequently does not matchtheir rhetoric. Although many complain aboutgovernment intervention in their lives, they tend notto reelect inactive politicians. But a politiciansactivity consists largely in the passage of laws whoseenforcement affects voters lives. Thus, voters oftenreelect politicians whose behavior they resent.

    Which one of the following most accurately describesthe role played in the argument by the claim thatpeople tend not to reelect inactive politicians?

    (A) It describes a phenomenon for which thearguments conclusion is offered as anexplanation.

    (B) It is a premise offered in support of theconclusion that voters often reelect politicianswhose behavior they resent.

    (C) It is offered as an example of how a politiciansactivity consists largely in the passage of lawswhose enforcement interferes with voters lives.

    (D) It is a generalization based on the claim thatpeople complain about governmentintervention in their lives.

    (E) It is cited as evidence that peoples behaviornever matches their political beliefs.

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  • 33 -22-15. Lea: Contemporary art has become big business.

    Nowadays art has less to do with self-expression than with making money. The workof contemporary artists is utterly bereft ofspontaneity and creativity, as a visit to any artgallery demonstrates.

    Susan: I disagree. One can still find spontaneous,innovative new artwork in most of the smaller,independent galleries.

    Leas and Susans remarks provide the most supportfor holding that they disagree about whether

    (A) large galleries contain creative artwork(B) most galleries contain some artwork that lacks

    spontaneity and creativity(C) contemporary art has become big business(D) some smaller art galleries still exhibit creative

    new artwork(E) contemporary art, in general, is much less

    concerned with self-expression than older art is

    16. Ethicist: In a recent judicial decision, a contractorwas ordered to make restitution to a companybecause of a bungled construction job, eventhough the company had signed a writtenagreement prior to entering into the contractthat the contractor would not be financiallyliable should the task not be adequatelyperformed. Thus, it was morally wrong for thecompany to change its mind and seekrestitution.

    Which one of the following principles, if valid, mosthelps to justify the ethicists reasoning?

    (A) It is morally wrong for one party not to abideby its part of an agreement only if the otherparty abides by its part of the agreement.

    (B) It is morally wrong to seek a penalty for anaction for which the agent is unable to makerestitution.

    (C) It is morally wrong for one person to seek topenalize another person for an action that thefirst person induced the other person toperform.

    (D) It is morally wrong to ignore the terms of anagreement that was freely undertaken only ifthere is clear evidence that the agreement waslegally permissible.

    (E) It is morally wrong to seek compensation foran action performed in the context of apromise to forgo such compensation.

    17. Zoologist: Animals can certainly signal each otherwith sounds and gestures. However, this doesnot confirm the thesis that animals possesslanguage, for it does not prove that animalspossess the ability to use sounds or gestures torefer to concrete objects or abstract ideas.

    Which one of the following is an assumption onwhich the zoologists argument depends?

    (A) Animals do not have the cognitive capabilitiesto entertain abstract ideas.

    (B) If an animals system of sounds or gestures isnot a language, then that animal is unable toentertain abstract ideas.

    (C) When signaling each other with sounds orgestures, animals refer neither to concreteobjects nor abstract ideas.

    (D) If a system of sounds or gestures contains noexpressions referring to concrete objects orabstract ideas, then that system is not alanguage.

    (E) Some animals that possess a language can referto both concrete objects and abstract ideas.

    18. A person is more likely to become disabled as thatperson ages. Among adults in the country of EastWendell, however, the proportion receiving disabilitybenefit payments shrinks from 4 percent among 55to 64 year olds to 2 percent for those aged 65 to 74and 1 percent for those aged 75 and older. Theexplanation of this discrepancy is that the proportionof jobs offering such a disability benefit has greatlyincreased in recent years.

    Which one of the following, if true about East Wendell,shows that the explanation above is at best incomplete?

    (A) The treatment of newly incurred disabilities ismore successful now than in the past inrestoring partial function in the affected areawithin six months.

    (B) Some people receive disability benefitpayments under employers insurance plans,and some receive them from the government.

    (C) Medical advances have prolonged the averagelifespan beyond what it was 20 years ago.

    (D) For persons receiving disability benefitpayments, those payments on averagerepresent a smaller share of their predisabilityincome now than was the case 20 years ago.

    (E) Under most employers plans, disability benefitpayments stop when an employee with adisability reaches the usual retirement age of 65.

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  • 3-23-319. Light is registered in the retina when photons hit

    molecules of the pigment rhodopsin and change themolecules shape. Even when they have not beenstruck by photons of light, rhodopsin moleculessometimes change shape because of normal molecularmotion, thereby introducing error into the visualsystem. The amount of this molecular motion isdirectly proportional to the temperature of the retina.

    Which one of the following conclusions is moststrongly supported by the information above?

    (A) The temperature of an animals retina dependson the amount of light the retina is absorbing.

    (B) The visual systems of animals whose bodytemperature matches that of theirsurroundings are more error-prone in hotsurroundings than in cold ones.

    (C) As the temperature of the retina rises,rhodopsin molecules react more slowly tobeing struck by photons.

    (D) Rhodopsin molecules are more sensitive tophotons in animals whose retinas have largesurface areas than in animals whose retinashave small surface areas.

    (E) Molecules of rhodopsin are the only pigmentmolecules that occur naturally in the retina.

    20. Critic: Political utility determines the popularity of ametaphor. In authoritarian societies, themetaphor of society as a human body governedby a head is pervasive. Therefore, the society-as-body metaphor, with its connection betweensocietys proper functioning and governance bya head, promotes greater acceptance ofauthoritarian repression than do othermetaphors, such as likening society to a family.

    Which one of the following statements, if true, mostweakens the critics argument?

    (A) In authoritarian societies, the metaphor ofsociety as a family is just as pervasive as thesociety-as-body metaphor.

    (B) Every society tries to justify the legitimacy ofits government through the use of metaphor.

    (C) The metaphor of society as a human body issometimes used in nonauthoritarian societies.

    (D) Authoritarian leaders are always searching fornew metaphors for society in their effort tomaintain their power.

    (E) The metaphor of society as a human bodygoverned by a head is rarely used in liberaldemocracies.

    21. Thirty years ago, the percentage of their income thatsingle persons spent on food was twice what it istoday. Given that incomes have risen over the pastthirty years, we can conclude that incomes have risenat a greater rate than the price of food in that period.

    Which one of the following, if assumed, helps mostto justify the conclusion drawn above?

    (A) The amount of food eaten per capita today isidentical to the amount of food eaten percapita thirty years ago.

    (B) In general, single persons today eat healthierfoods and eat less than their counterparts ofthirty years ago.

    (C) Single persons today, on average, purchase thesame kinds of food items in the samequantities as they did thirty years ago.

    (D) The prices of nonfood items single personspurchase have risen faster than the price offood over the past thirty years.

    (E) Unlike single persons, families today spendabout the same percentage of their income onfood as they did thirty years ago.

    22. Viruses can have beneficial effects. For example,some kill more-complex microorganisms, some ofwhich are deadly to humans. But viruses have suchsimple structures that replacing just a few of abeneficial viruss several million atoms can make itdeadly to humans. Clearly, since alterations of greatercomplexity than this are commonly produced byrandom mutations, any virus could easily becomedangerous to humans.

    If the statements above are true, than each of thefollowing statements could also be true EXCEPT:

    (A) Random mutation makes some deadly virusesbeneficial to humans.

    (B) Some organisms of greater complexity thanviruses are no more likely than viruses toundergo significant alterations throughrandom mutation.

    (C) Some microorganisms that are more complexthan viruses are beneficial to humans.

    (D) Some viruses that fail to kill other viruses thatare deadly to humans are neverthelessbeneficial to humans.

    (E) No virus that is deadly to organisms of greatercomplexity than itself is beneficial to humans.

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  • 33 -24-23. Societies in which value is measured primarily in

    financial terms invariably fragment into isolatedsocial units. But since money is not the mainmeasure of value in nonindustrial societies, theymust tend in contrast to be socially unified.

    The flawed reasoning in which one of the following ismost similar to that in the argument above?

    (A) Animals of different genera cannot interbreed.But that does not prove that jackals andwolves cannot interbreed, for they belong tothe same genus.

    (B) Ecosystems close to the equator usually havemore species than those closer to the poles.Thus, the Sahara Desert must contain morespecies than Siberia does, since the latter isfarther from the equator.

    (C) Insects pass through several stages ofmaturation: egg, larva, pupa, and adult. Sinceinsects are arthropods, all arthropods probablyundergo similar maturation processes.

    (D) Poets frequently convey their thoughts vianonliteral uses of language such as metaphorsand analogies. But journalists are not poets, sosurely journalists always use language literally.

    (E) Technologically sophisticated machines oftencause us more trouble than simpler devicesserving the same function. Since computersare more technologically sophisticated thanpencils, they must tend to be moretroublesome.

    24. Ringtail opossums are an Australian wildlife speciesthat is potentially endangered. A number of ringtailopossums that had been orphaned and subsequentlyraised in captivity were monitored after beingreturned to the wild. Seventy-five percent of thoseopossums were killed by foxes, a species not native toAustralia. Conservationists concluded that the nativeringtail opossum population was endangered not bya scarcity of food, as had been previously thought,but by non-native predator species against which theopossum had not developed natural defenses.

    Which one of the following, if true, most stronglysupports the conservationists argument?

    (A) There are fewer non-native predator speciesthat prey on the ringtail opossum than thereare native species that prey on the ringtailopossum.

    (B) Foxes, which were introduced into Australiaover 200 years ago, adapted to the Australianclimate less successfully than did some otherforeign species.

    (C) The ringtail opossums that were raised incaptivity were fed a diet similar to that whichringtail opossums typically eat in the wild.

    (D) Few of the species that compete with theringtail opossum for food sources are nativeto Australia.

    (E) Ringtail opossums that grow to adulthood inthe wild defend themselves against foxes nomore successfully than do ringtail opossumsraised in captivity.

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  • 3-25-325. Jordan: If a business invests the money necessary to

    implement ecologically sound practices, itsmarket share will decrease. But if it doesntimplement these practices, it pollutes theenvironment and wastes resources.

    Terry: But if consumers demand environmentalresponsibility of all businesses, no particularbusiness will be especially hurt.

    In which one of the following exchanges is the logicalrelationship between Jordans and Terrys statementsmost similar to the logical relationship between theirstatements above?

    (A) Jordan: Either it will rain and our plans for apicnic will be thwarted or it wont rain andthe garden will go yet another day withoutmuch-needed watering.

    Terry: But if it doesnt rain, we can buy a hoseand water the garden with the hose.

    (B) Jordan: Each person can have either anenjoyable life or a long life, for one must eatvegetables and exercise continuously to stayhealthy.

    Terry: Thats not true: there are many happyhealth-conscious people.

    (C) Jordan: If taxes are raised, many socialproblems could be solved, but if theyrelowered, the economy will grow again. So wecant have both social reform and a growingeconomy.

    Terry: But if taxes remain at their currentlevel, neither social problems nor theeconomy will get worse.

    (D) Jordan: If we remodel the kitchen, the housewill be more valuable, but even if we do,theres no guarantee that well actually getmore for the house when we sell it.

    Terry: But if we dont remodel the kitchen, wemight get even less for the house than we paidfor it.

    (E) Jordan: If the dams spillway is opened, theriver might flood the eastern part of town,but if the spillway is not opened, the dammight burst.

    Terry: Theres no real danger of the damsbursting, but if we get more heavy rain,opening the spillway is the most prudent policy.

    26. The media now devote more coverage to crime thanthey did ten years ago. Yet this is not because the crimerate has increased, but rather because the public isnow more interested in reading and hearing aboutcrime. After all, a crucial factor in the mediasdecisions about what issues to cover and to whatextent to cover them is the interests of their audiences.

    The proposition that the public is now moreinterested in reading and hearing about crime playswhich one of the following roles in the argument?

    (A) It supports the conclusion that the media nowdevote more coverage to crime than the crimerate alone justifies.

    (B) It is presented as evidence that the media decidewhat to cover and to what extent to cover itdepending on the interests of the public.

    (C) It is a counterexample to the claim that themedia devote more coverage to crime nowthan they did ten years ago.

    (D) It is a generalization based on the claim that thecrime rate has increased over the past ten years.

    (E) It is offered as an alternative explanation ofwhy the media devote more coverage to crimenow than they did ten years ago.

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